A video posted on social media by Ontario MPP Sol Mamakwa shows CN Rail workers inside a train surrounded by flames.X Sol Mamakwa/The Canadian Press
Federal regulators are looking into the circumstances that forced Canadian National Railway train operators to flee on foot from wildfires in Northwestern Ontario on Monday.
The CN crew had to abandon their train and run down the tracks after their locomotive was surrounded in flames while stopped on a sidetrack waiting for another train to pass amid flame and smoke near Armstrong, Ont.
“We are encased in flames,” one crew member said in a viral video filmed before they ran from the wildfire. The men survived but were treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation.
This is near Armstrong, Ontario.
When will the Canadian National Railway Company make a statement about this incident? pic.twitter.com/6bKJYugeR0
— Sol Mamakwa (@solmamakwa) July 14, 2026
In response to Globe and Mail questions, Transport Canada spokesman Hicham Ayoun said on Friday the ministry is “conducting follow up oversight” on trains operating in the area to see if there were any violations of the Railway Safety Act. Mr. Ayoun also said ministry officials will work with Employment and Social Development Canada to determine if there were any health and safety violations of the Canadian Labour Code, which governs federally regulated workplaces.
“Transport Canada will not hesitate to implement operational restrictions or protective measures when necessary,” Mr. Ayoum said.
Confirmation of the probes comes a day after the Transportation Safety Board said it is gathering information on the incident but it is too soon to discuss next steps.
CN closed the tracks in the region and evacuated employees as the wildfires spread. Widespread fires in the region have emptied communities and sent clouds of smoke over much of the province and parts of the United States.
The first truck CN sent along the tracks to rescue the crew members was forced to stop because of the flames, said Marc-André Gauthier, a spokesman for Teamsters Canada, which represents the workers.
The would-be rescuers fled along with the two train operators before being picked up by another truck.
“They ran for a mile or two,” Mr. Gauthier said. “It’s crazy that they have to go through that. But the train should not have been there in the first place, and I know it’s easy to say with hindsight, but when there’s an active forest fire you just don’t send a train there.”
The railway did not immediately respond to e-mailed questions on Friday. CN on Thursday did not address a Globe question on why the trains were in that area.
“Our railroaders were faced with an extremely dangerous and challenging situation during the recent wildfires in Northern Ontario,” CN spokeswoman Ashley Michnowski said. “We commend them for the courage and professionalism they demonstrated during such an horrific event.”
Mr. Gauthier said train crews are often forced to wait lengthy periods of time on sidings for another train to pass. He did not know how long the train caught in the fire had to wait. “This is when the fire caught up to them, so they could not just back off at this point. It was a very bad situation,” he said.